“ANNIE HALL REDUX?”

By Raymond Benson

In hindsight, the most enjoyable thing about Manhattan Murder Mystery was Diane Keaton’s return to co-star with Woody Allen in what will most likely be their last screen appearance together. Released in 1993, Murder Mystery was Allen’s obvious attempt to regain public favor after an acrimonious split with Mia Farrow and the surrounding uproar of allegations and custody battles. Keaton’s presence served to remind us that the old chemistry between the two actors could still generate sparks, and it did.

Many critics at the time commented that the pair could have been playing the characters of Annie and Alvy (from Annie Hall) sixteen years later, now settled in an imperfect, but comfortable, marriage. In fact, much of the plot of Manhattan Murder Mystery was originally a part of Annie Hall! That 1977 classic, co-written by Allen and Marshall Brickman, contained not only the Annie/Alvy love story but also a murder mystery the couple attempts to solve. Eventually that was all thrown out of Annie Hall (thank goodness!). Years later, Allen and Brickman decided to resurrect the discarded plot elements and fashion a brand-new script in which a couple like Annie and Alvy—now middle-aged—get themselves embroiled in comic sleuthing.

Larry (Allen) and Carol (Keaton) live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan (where else?) and meet their apartment building neighbors, Paul (Jerry Adler) and Lillian (Lynn Cohen). The next day, Lillian has died of a heart attack. Larry and Carol notice that Paul doesn’t seem too broken up about it. Furthermore, Carol discovers an urn full of ashes in Paul’s kitchen, even after Paul has said that Lillian was buried in their “twin cemetery plots.” Enter Larry and Carol’s friend Ted (Alan Alda), who encourages Carol’s imaginative speculation that Paul murdered his wife. Larry’s client, Marcia (Anjelica Huston), gets into the act as well, and the foursome embark on exposing Paul’s nefarious scheme that involves a series of lies, a mistress, and his wife’s twin sister.

The plot is far-fetched, but Allen treats the material as a farce anyway. It works well enough. Much of the fun of the picture is watching Allen and Keaton as their characters do astonishingly stupid things, such as when Carol, thinking Paul is out of the building for a while, sneaks into his apartment to snoop. Of course, Paul returns, forcing her to hide under the bed and lose her glasses at the same time.

Allen has included references to cinema history that are a lot of fun—clips from Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity (1944) and Orson Welles’ The Lady from Shanghai (1947)—inform the story with thematic and visual motifs. There are laughs, to be sure, but Manhattan Murder Mystery does not rank among Allen’s best comedies. It’s enjoyable fluff, and perhaps that was all it was meant to be.

Twilight Time’s limited-edition Blu-ray (only 3000 units) looks very nice in its 1080p High Definition transfer, showing off Carlo Di Palma’s colorful cinematography and New York City landmarks that are always a treat in a Woody Allen film. The audio is 1.0 DTS-HD MA, with an isolated score and effects track. The theatrical trailer is the only supplement.

Good for a lightweight romp around the Big Apple, Manhattan Murder Mystery will please fans of Allen and, especially, Diane Keaton.

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